


Striped Carnations

by jasmine_iroh (orphan_account)



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, F/M, Flowers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hanahaki Disease, Illnesses, Kissing, Love Confessions, Mentions of Blood, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romance, Slow Burn, Sparring, bolin brings you soup :""), ya i gotcha airbender right here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:40:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26610802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/jasmine_iroh
Summary: You suffer from Hanahaki Disease as a result of being hopelessly in love with Bolin, even though he pines for Korra.
Relationships: Bolin (Avatar) & Reader, Bolin (Avatar)/Reader
Comments: 1
Kudos: 116





	Striped Carnations

Ah, yes. Striped carnations, the flower that symbolizes regret that a love for someone else cannot be returned. A pitiful reminder of your one-sided love for Bolin every time you coughed up its petals. Sure, Bolin is a little quirky, but that just made him all the more lovable.

It started with congestion in your chest. At first, you simply thought it was the common cold. After all, it was that time of year. You didn’t really pay any mind to it, and neither did others. Until, one day, your littlest sibling, Meelo, points out how much you’ve been clearing your throat lately.

It made you stop for a second, and all at once, you felt an incredible weight on your chest. It suffocated you for a moment, until you cleared your throat again, and the weight seemed to dissolve. It was odd, but you convinced yourself that it was just a bad case of the cold. You never paid attention to it anymore, until today.

You woke up to Ikki and Jinora arguing, as usual. You cleared your throat, something that was also nothing out of the ordinary, stretched your unused limbs, and shouted at your sisters to keep it down. What a great way to start your day. 

In a daze, you stumbled towards the dining hall, Air Acolytes calling out greetings. Your father always insisted that they eat together as a family, but you just couldn’t stand the way your siblings constantly argued. Besides, you were pretty sure they already ate. According to the clock, it was already half past eleven.

As you ate the dough sticks your mother prepared for you, you cleared your throat again, wondering what your plan was for today. The idea of a lazy day in seemed very appealing to you, but what would your father have to say? You could just picture him now, perfectly mimicking his stern voice inside your head.

_“(Y/N)!”_ he would scold. _“You and your brother and sisters are the future generation of airbenders! You should be training, not lounging around, your skills diminishing in the process!”_

Scowling, you shook your head to dispel his words, and rose. You doubted that your parents had chores for you, so you made your way to the training grounds, opting to try out the new moves that your father had taught you. 

When you got there, you weren’t that surprised to see Bolin practicing his earthbending. Ever since his brush with Amon, he trained vigorously, day and night. He seemed so concentrated, lifting giant chunks of rocks before hurling them at imaginary opponents, that you actually turned around to leave, not wanting to interrupt.

However, before you could get out of his line of sight, he noticed you out of the corner of his eye. He waved at you enthusiastically, motioning for you to stand beside him. Ignoring the way your heart beat frantically at the sight of him, you jogged over, smiling broadly. 

_Did you just get more congested...?_

“Morning, (Y/N)! Or should I say afternoon?” Bolin teased.

Clearing your throat softly, you shoved him halfheartedly. “Very funny.”

“How are you?” he inquired, stretching his arms.

You held in a cough, your chest heaving. “I-I’m good! You?”

“I’m great, thanks for asking!” Bolin replied energetically. He intertwined his fingers before lifting his arms above his head, leaning from side to side. “Wanna spar?”

“Sure! I promise I’ll go easy on you,” you smirked, imitating Bolin’s stretches. Keeping everything you’ve ever learned about airbending locked tight in your head, you began to hop from one foot to the other. The main rule? Always be light on your feet.

As soon as the both of you were done, you two bowed to each other, before walking away, stopping when you were at least six feet away from him. 

Almost instantly, Bolin sent a barrage of rocks hurdling towards you. In response, you sent a sharp gust of wind to slice them in half. Momentarily blinded by the dust, you very narrowly avoided a punch to the stomach from Bolin by sending your body into a backbend.

Lifting your legs, you concentrated your airbending properties into your feet, sending Bolin flying in the opposite direction. He didn’t hesitate to get back up on his feet. It wasn’t much, but it gave you enough time to fix your posture.

The next few minutes mostly consisted of Bolin hurtling chunks of earth at your face, and you sending bursts of air to knock him down. You landed enough hits on Bolin for him to slow down, and vice versa. 

Feeling something warm ooze from your nose, you hastily wiped it off, the crimson glowing brightly against your dusty skin. Slamming his fists into the ground, Bolin sent a train of crumbling rocks towards you, which you easily dodged by sending a blast of wind. 

The air was clouded with dust. Forming your hands into a circular motion above your head, you cleared away the dirt, only to see Bolin sprinting towards you. You hastily brought your hands down, sending another spurt of wind to counterattack his rocks, but he caught you off-guard.

Instead, he manipulated the earth to launch him in the air. Landing directly in front of you, he punched you straight in the chest.

Any remaining air in your lungs left as you were hurtled backwards. In a fruitless attempt to get yourself back on your feet, you grab hold of Bolin’s wrist, sending him down with you.

You landed on the solid ground with a _thump_ , releasing Bolin’s wrist. You groaned softly, spikes of pain poking your back. You heard Bolin let out a shout of surprise before something very hard landed on top of your body.

Your eyes open just as Bolin’s hands slammed on either side of your head. His face was mere centimeters away from yours, his forehead curl sticking to his sweaty forehead. 

Both of your eyes widen as you and Bolin realize that he is pinning you to the ground. Bolin. Is. Pinning. You. To. The. Ground. It’s suddenly very hard to breathe.

Heat prickled your cheeks as you stared up into Bolin’s wide, lime green eyes. Your thoughts had been scrambled to mush as the most adorable flush coated Bolin’s face. It felt like the only people who existed in that moment were you two. At least, that’s how it felt for you.

You’re so incredibly flustered it feels like you can’t breathe. You actually can’t b-

Suddenly, your hand flies up to cover your mouth as a gush of grating coughs escape from your chest. Bolin seemed to finally snap back to reality as he clambered off of you, kneeling as you coughed forcefully into your hand. It feels like...like something is lodged in your throat.

“Oh, Spirits! (Y/N), are you okay?! I hit you too hard! I’m so sorry!” Bolin cried, his arms fluttering around you helplessly as he tried to think of a way to help you. He settled on rubbing your back comfortingly as you sat up. Unfortunately, his rubbing only freeing more coughs. He instantaneously retracted his hand, fear glimmering in his eyes.

Slowly, your coughs finally die down, leaving you breathless. There was a distinct feeling that something was stuck in your throat. You cleared it, trying to remove whatever was in your throat, but it stubbornly refused to unstick.

You exhale, your breathing seemingly back to normal as Bolin shifts to sit next to you

“Are you okay..?” he asked cautiously.

Smiling slightly, you nod. “I’m fine. I’m just congested,” you croaked. “Your punch probably set it off, it’s no big deal.”

He shook his head, the fear in his eyes replaced with concern. “(Y/N), I don’t think my punch was strong enough to unleash coughs that sounded like _that_.”

You hesitantly stood up, your knees buckling under the sudden weight. Bolin’s arms were outstretched, just in case you collapsed. “It’s _nothing_ ,” you insisted, waving off Bolin’s hands. “A cold and sparring don’t exactly mix well together, do they?”

Bolin still didn’t look convinced, but before he could say anything else, you cut him off. “I think I’ll just head back to my room for the day, okay? I’m still feeling a bit...shaky.”

He nodded, satisfied with your decision. “C’mon, I’ll walk you there.”

* * *

“I think you should see a healer, just in case, y’know?” Bolin pressed. “I mean, what if it turns out to be something serious? You could be bedridden for weeks!”

You wanted to jump off the stairwell right then and there. Bolin had been pestering you the entire walk back to your room. Even though it was pretty annoying, it made your heart soar to see how much he actually cared about you.

“At least let me get you some water. Then I’ll—” All of a sudden, Bolin cut himself off, his attention snapping towards something in front of you two, blood rushing forward to color his cheeks.

Baffled, you followed his line of sight, to see Korra descending from her room. Of course it was Korra. _Only she was the one who could make Bolin feel that way,_ you thought bitterly. Whenever Korra was around, it was as if you turned invisible, like you didn’t exist.

Bolin bowed deeply to Korra, and you did the same, suppressing a cough. “Good afternoon, Korra! Looking scintillating as always!” Bolin’s compliments never failed to make your heart ache. You wished that for once you’d be on the receiving line of one of the earthbender’s compliments.

“Aw, thanks, Bo,” she beamed. Bolin’s rosiness became more apparent, encouraging him to spew more compliments. Your chest tightened with a repressed cough. You inhaled slowly, attempting to hold it in, but instead, it forced itself out of your mouth. 

Whatever was stuck in your throat came flying out as you covered your mouth with a hand. You held up the unknown object to see...a petal. A flower petal. It was snow-white with a reddish-pink line running across it.

“(Y/N), are you alright?” Korra called, snapping you out of your thoughts. You swiftly shoved the slimy petal into your pocket, quickly plastering a smile over your lips.

“Yeah, ‘m fine, just a little congested.”

“Wait a sec! Korra’s a healer, right? (Y/N), you should—” 

“I’m _fine_ , Bolin,” you cut him off, your tone a little sharper than intended. Your smile no longer reached your eyes. “It’s just a cough. I’m gonna go to my dorm now. See you guys later.” You brushed past them, taking the stairs two at a time. When you were sure you were out of their sight, you slowly withdrew the petal from your pocket.

How, and _why_ , did you cough up a flower petal? You probably swallowed one during your match with Bolin, you thought. Sighing, and coughing slightly, you threw open the door of your room, flopping onto the cushy mattress.

* * *

You were beginning to think that this wasn’t a cold after all. It had been a couple of weeks since you had coughed up that first petal, but ever since then, your cough and congestion was only getting worse, as was your stamina. 

While weeks ago you were going toe-to-toe with Bolin, you could barely keep up with Meelo. Everyone was beginning to worry. You had stopped showing up at get-togethers with Team Avatar, and even your grandmother, Katara, and your auntie Kya showed up on behalf of Tenzin, who was losing his mind with worry.

However, your father wasn’t the most concerned. That would be Bolin, who had seen your fits up close. You were beginning to realize that they were triggered whenever Bolin was around, but you were shrugging it off as a coincidence. 

He was hanging around you a lot more lately, so he was bound to experience more of them, right? He consistently nagged you to go get checked out by Katara or Kya or just _anyone, please_. He even offered to tag along if you were too scared to go by yourself.

You were seriously beginning to consider getting checked out by them. Every day, you seem to be coughing up more and more petals, and there are only so much you can hide. Ikki had even discovered one of your petals, but she decided not to show it off, as it was covered in saliva.

You vehemently refused to get examined by your grandmother or aunt, until, one day, you began to suffocate. Usually, when you needed to cough up flower petals, you were still able to breathe, but that was nothing like what you were experiencing then.

Gasping for air, you doubled over, thrusting your stomach against the sharp edge of your headboard. Luckily, they came out fairly easily, and you cough up about sixteen petals, dripping with fresh blood.

You began to panic, staring at the glistening, ruby-red liquid. You had never coughed up so much flower petals, and they were never _bloody_. The world tilted at the oddest angle as you stumbled down the stairs that connected your room to the main hall.

Lucky for you, you ran into Jinora, who was more than ecstatic to help you find your way to the healing room where you _knew_ Katara and Kya were waiting for you. Blood snaked its way down your chin as you gurgled and coughed, attempting to keep the petals in your mouth.

You guessed that Jinora was just happy to see you getting the medical attention you needed, but she often threw frantic glances at you, often murmuring comforting words like, “hold on, (Y/N), just hold on,” and, “we’re almost there.”

After what seemed like an eternity of flights of stairs and gawking people, you two finally arrived at the healing room. Jinora blasted down the door with a gust of wind, alerting the two waterbenders of your presence. Immediately, Katara and Kya rushed towards you, Kya lifting you from your sister’s grip.

Gently, your aunt lowered you into the pool of water, its tides cool and comforting. The glowing water washed away the blood from your chin as it lapped at your figure. Too weak to keep your eyes open, you rested your head against the floor, catching a glimpse of Katara escorting Jinora out of the room, tears flowing thickly down her young face.

“It’s about time you saw us, (Y/N)! It took you to almost die to come to us,” Kya scolded.

You opened your mouth to reply, but instead, more petals came tumbling from your lips, covered in the ever-present red. The water seemed to turn pink for a moment, before it went back to its majestic blue.

“Dear Spirits, child, did you swallow a flower?” Katara gasped, rushing to Kya’s side to assist with the examination.

“N-N-No, Gran-Gran, I’ve been c-coughing these up for a while,” you rasped, coughing up a single petal.

Katara performed specific motions with her hands as she lifted a ball of water that contained all of the petals that had come out of you. She placed the petals in a cloth sack as the water glowed around your chest.

Slowly, your chest became transparent, your heart and lungs visible. You couldn’t see, as your head had fallen back in exhaustion again, but your relatives certainly did.

“Mother, those aren’t—?” Kya choked out.

“They are,” Katara replied grimly. “There are flowers all throughout her lungs. By the looks of the petals, striped carnations.”

At that, your eyes flew wide open. “Wh-What?! Can you get them out?”

Your grandmother closed her eyes in concentration, as if she was trying very hard to remember something. “If you have what I think you have, then yes. There are two ways these flowers can come out, but first, let me tell you what I think you have.”

Judging by the look on Kya’s face, she didn’t know what her mother was talking about, either. 

“O-Okay..” you nodded, shaky.

She cleared her throat before continuing. “I believe you have what is called Hanahaki Disease. I’ve read about it in ancient Healing techniques, but there hasn’t been a case for nearly three centuries. Over time, people began playing it off as an old fable, and they altogether forgot about it.”

Something in Kya’s memory seemed to click, for her eyes brightened and she began to nod.

“S-so, what does that mean? I grow _flowers_ in my lungs?” you gasped, staring down at your invisible chest.

Kya nodded gravely. “I remember reading Mother’s Healing textbooks. The creation of the flowers is caused by one-sided love.”

One-sided love... A mental image of Bolin, his signature grin in place, flashed before your eyes.

“It can start with maybe a petal or two, but over time, the amount slowly accumulates, before the infected begins coughing fully-bloomed flowers. If not assessed by a Healer in due time, the result is often devastating.”

Your heart stuttered at the word _devastating_.

What a sick world this is. Bolin, the last person you’d imagine ever hurting you intentionally was now killing you, and he didn’t even know it. At the thought of Bolin, your chest heaved as more bloody petals flowed from your mouth.

Kya patted your back gently as your fit subsided. “H-How can I get rid o-of them..? Can I even _get_ r-rid of them?”

Katara smiled softly and nodded. “You can confess to whomever your feelings are towards-” you winced, “-and if they return your affection, the flowers will vanish.” You leaned your head back again, taking deep, controlled breaths.

You were barely aware of the tears that slithered down your cheeks and into the glimmering water. Bolin was in love with Korra, he had made that pretty obvious. He liked Korra. Not you.

“There’s another option, sweetheart,” Katara reminded gently. Sniffling, you wiped your tears. “Kya and I could try removing the flowers manually. We would have to send a stream of water down your throat and into your lungs to sweep away the flowers, but you’d be asleep the entire time.”

Even with the thought of sleeping through the procedure it seemed extremely uncomfortable, but it was better than dying.

“The only downside to this operation is that you’d lose all memories of the person you have feelings for, permanently,” Kya chimed in.

A twinge of remorse pierced your heart, but you instantly tossed it aside. Again, it was better than dying.

Your lips were pressed together in a thin line. It vaguely reminded Katara of Tenzin. “I...I’ll do the surgery.”

Both Kya’s and Katara’s eyes widened. “(Y/N), are you sure? Y-You don’t even want to try confessing to—”

“I already know they don’t return my feelings,” you interrupted, a vast pool of hurt lurking behind your words.

Kya sighed. “I see. It’ll take Mother and I a day at the most to practice our technique. Will you be alright during that time period?”

Trembling slightly, you rose from the glimmering water, somehow as dry as you entered. “Y-Yeah, I’ll be fine. As long as I avoid Bo— _them_ , I won’t have any problems.”

Katara raised a thin brow, before nodding. “Okay. However, if you begin to throw up intact flowers, come to be immediately.”

The tone of her voice sent a shiver through you, but you stepped gingerly over the fallen door, making your way back to your room. At a sharp corner, you nearly rammed into Mako. Wait, _Mako?_

“(Y/N)! I’m so glad I caught up to you. Jinora told me the good news!” he smiled brightly.

You stared at him vaguely. What good news?

He seemed a tad uncomfortable at your penetrating gaze. “You know, she told us that it was just a bad strain of the cold!”

Your eyes widened at that. For the first time in a while, you felt such gratitude for your sister it made your heart inflate and nearly crack your ribs. “Uh, yeah! Yep! Just a bad case of the cold.”

Mako put a hand on your shoulder, before rushing off, waving over his shoulder.

A sudden wave of fatigue swept through you, and you tripped towards your room, closing it with a bit more force than you intended. In a daze, you collapsed onto your bed, succumbing to sleep instantly.

* * *

You awoke to the sound of someone banging on your door. Squeezing your eyes tightly, you hoped that whoever was there would go away, but they didn’t. Instead, their pounding grew more and more frantic until you were convinced that they were going to break down the door if you didn’t answer.

Grumbling under your breath, you threw the door open to see....Bolin. So much for avoidance. 

“O-Oh! Hey, (Y/N)!” he greeted, a hint of pink slowly crawling over his cheeks. “I’m sorry about...uh...before, but I had to come over here once Mako told me the good news!”

Once again, you didn’t recall any good news. Your mind wasn’t exactly coherent in the morning, and it didn’t help that you were slowly suffocating. He seemed to sense your confusion. “Mako told me that it was nothing more than a cold! I was super worried for you, y’know..”

A few coughs escaped your lips, and you felt something barely noticeable in the base of your throat.

“Once I heard that, I...” he paused to presumably build up tension. You barely noticed that he had his hands behind his back until he pulled something from behind him. He held it out to you, his face now a bright red. “I made you some vegetable soup!”

Any comprehensible thoughts you had at that point were instantly scrambled like platypus-bear eggs. Bolin...made soup for you? Your heart thumped unevenly against your chest as a warm flush spread on your cheeks.

Unbeknownst to Bolin and yourself, he had unleashed the final stage of your sickness by doing this. Suddenly, a flurry of petals burst from your lips, fluttering to the ground. You fell to your knees, an impossible amount of petals hurdling themselves outward.

Bolin was by your side in an instant, his face contorted with horror as he shouted something you couldn’t decipher. There was a low buzz in your ears as the thing you had felt earlier was now blocking your entire airway. Just like before, you couldn’t breathe at all. Tears splattered against the hardwood floor as you heaved, the object in your throat inching painfully upward until you could just feel it in the back of your throat.

Then, as Bolin tried to soothe your vicious coughing with a back rub, it caused the most thunderous cough you’ve ever had. The object fell to the ground with a _plop_ beneath you. Four fully-bloomed striped carnations, drenched in blood.

On all fours and gasping for air, you gaped at the soggy flowers. Bolin was still talking, the pitch of his voice high with panic, yet you still couldn’t make out his words.

“K-Katara..” you gurgled, blood spewing onto the floor as you talked. “Take m-me...to...Katara...” was the last thing you spoke, before falling onto your side. You had fainted.

* * *

Slowly, your eyes fluttered open at the feeling of someone stroking your (h/c) hair. You noticed that you were back in the shimmering pool of healing water. Katara and Kya were nowhere to be seen; probably discussing the matter with your family. 

You glanced up to see Bolin, his eyes closed as he ran his fingers through your silky threads. He seemed to be dozing off. _Whoa, whoa, wait... Bolin is stroking your hair... Bolin is—_

You lurched forward, petals fluttering out of your mouth. Bolin jumped at your sudden movement, and audibly gasped. “(Y-Y/N)! You’re awake! How are you feeling?” You shifted your position to sit in front of him, gratefully accepting a cup of water offered by him.

“Weak,” you responded, and your tone confirmed it. Every muscle in your body ached.

“Katara told me about your condition,” he said softly. “and your decision.” You handed the now-empty cup back to him, and he placed it next to him. A sudden blaze in his eyes was sparked. “Why didn’t you try confessing? All of this-” he motioned to you sitting in the healing pool. “-could have been avoided.”

You lowered your gaze to stare bitterly at your hands in your lap. “It’s no use, Bolin. I know they don’t feel that way about me.”

“And how exactly do you know that?” Bolin demanded, a glint of anger in his tone. His bushy eyebrows were furrowed in frustration. “I’m sorry but I just—I don’t understand! I mean, you didn’t even try! You just went ahead with doing the surgery, and you didn’t even try! To not _try_ , it’s just—!” he growled in irritation.

You’d never seen Bolin worked up so much before. Usually, he was calm and mellow. “I already _told_ you, Bolin. They. Like. Someone. Else.” You annunciated every word to make sure he got it. And yet, he did not.

“But still! I mean, there’s no harm in trying, right? Even if they made it clear that they like someone else, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try!” Bolin persisted.

“Bo, please, just leave it alone! It doesn’t matter—”

“Like hell it doesn’t!” he snarled. “We’re talking about your well-being, (Y/N)! How do we know this procedure is going to work? I won’t! I won’t let you do something like this until you try out the other option—”

“It’s you.”

Bolin cut himself off, shocked written all over his face. “I—w-what?”

You sighed, before clearing your throat softly. You knew he was going to keep bugging you about it, so might as well get it over with, right? “It’s you. I have feelings for you, Bolin. I...like you.”

He stared at you, eyes wider and rounder than a copper piece. “(Y/N)…I-I don’t know what to say...”

Smiling ruefully, you met his gaze. “You don’t have to say anything, Bo, it doesn’t matter. You like Korra, everyone knows that—”

Bolin abruptly flung himself towards you, wrapping his muscular arms around your waist, laughing jovially. You let out a squeak of surprise, feeling the beginnings of another violent cough.

“(Y/N), you don’t get it, do you? I like you, too!” Bolin pulled himself away from you, the happiest grin on his face you’ve ever seen. You didn’t realize how flustered he was until you saw the strokes of red lighting his cheeks.

Now you were the one who was confused. “Wh-Wha? But, Korra..?”

The earthbender shook his head, the dopey grin still plastered in his face. “I mean, yeah, I’ve liked Korra for a while now, but I realized not too long ago how much you mean to me, and how long these feelings have gone unnoticed.” He paused, the blush on his cheeks worsening. “T-That’s why I made you veggie soup! I was planning on confessing when you got better..”

Almost as soon as he said the word _confess_ , the pressure on your chest suddenly...vanished. You inhaled deeply, smiling widely when you didn’t feel the need to cough.

He instantly takes your hand in his much-larger one, your smile becoming flustered. He seemed to finally remember the situation you two were in. “Wait a sec...(Y/N)! The flowers, are they—are they gone?”

You nodded exuberantly, a laugh bubbling to your lips. “They’re gone! I can finally breathe clearly!”

Bolin let out another convivial laugh, hugging you so tightly you thought your bones might break. You couldn’t help but laugh along with him, tears of relief cascading down your rosy cheeks.

After a few seconds, Bolin withdrew himself once more, his face crimson. He gazed at you sheepishly, opening his mouth to say something before closing it again.

“Bo, what is it?” you inquired softly, tilting your head in confusion.

He withdrew his arms from you, twiddling his thumbs nervously. “Um...c-can I kiss you...?”

Hearing those words sent a thrill through your spine, heat prickling your cheeks, but you nodded, smiling shyly.

Bolin raised a shaky hand to wipe away your tears, and you leaned into his touch, melting against it, your eyes closed in bliss. The sight made Bolin’s heart squeeze as his ears burned.

Steadily, Bolin began to lean forward, until he rested his forehead against yours. He was so close he could hear the stuttering rhythm of your heartbeat, feel your sweet breath sweep across his face, see the way your (e/c) eyes sparkled like stars.

He pressed his lips to yours, softly, hesitantly. They were softer than marshmallow, and sweeter, too. You felt him smile against your lips, and you did, too. Bolin pressed both of his hands to your cheeks, entrapping your face in his burning hands, pulling you deeper into the kiss.

You obliged gladly, your free hands rising to entangle themselves into his hair. He let out a soft moan when you tugged at his locks gently. Just as you were beginning to feel faint, he pulled away, his eyes still closed, but a dazed smile on his face.

Slowly, Bolin opened his eyes, his smile so saturated with love it made your head swim. You pressed a chaste kiss to his nose, giggling at the way he lifted his chin so you could meet his lips.

Before he could interlock your lips again, you two heard someone clear their throat. Bolin nearly jumped out of his skin, his cheeks ablaze once again. Standing in the doorway was Katara and Kya, observing the two of you with an amused expression on their faces.

“I’m assuming you no longer require the surgery?” Katara inquired, smiling softly.

You shook your head. To say you were embarrassed was an understatement. To be caught making out with someone by your grandmother _and_ aunt was beyond mortifying. “Y-Yeah...thanks, anyways, Gran-Gran, auntie Kya.”

“No worries, (Y/N). You should make a full recovery, despite a few week’s worth of sore throat. You’re free to go!” Kya chirped.

Bolin took your hand in his, and gingerly helped you from the healing pool, as dry as last time. As you passed your family, you thanked them again, before stepping into the cool afternoon air, the sun beginning to set.

Out of nowhere, you were swiftly swept off your feet, Bolin holding you bridal-style, letting out the same surprised squeak. “I will take you out to dinner, my blossom!” he exclaimed passionately, spinning you around. 

Almost as immediately as those words left his tongue, he seemed to realize a certain negative association with the word. “Er—Maybe not my blossom....my princess! My shining star! My angel! My meteorite blazing across the midnight sky!”

You let out another carefree laugh, your cheeks glowing red. “Blossom is fine,” you replied quietly, pressing a kiss to Bolin’s jawline before nuzzling into the crook of his neck.

“My blossom it is,” he beamed, returning the kiss to your forehead.


End file.
